Monday, July 19, 2010

no-sew bag tutorial - reader submission

Wow, another b-e-a-utiful weekend in Seattle. We took our boys canoeing in Lake Washington and soaked up the sun while searching for bald eagles and blue herons and navigating through the lily pads. All that fun meant not much time for crafting, so we're so happy to have a reader submission to share with you today. This no-sew bag from our readers Vanessa and Nicholette is absolutely incredible. Read on!

Hi there friends! I can't wait to show you what I've recently learned. Have you heard of Furoshiki? I hadn't until a week a go, and I'm in love. Furoshiki is a Japanese technique, like origami, but for fabric! They are a type of Japanese wrapping cloth, used to transport food, gifts, or other goods. It used to be very popular, but now, we have become too dependent on the evil plastic bag!!! So if you're looking to go green, this is it! I've recently learned how to make a purse, from a lady called Leticia Yabiku. Let me show you:

Isn't that cute? No sewing required, either, all we're going to do is fold and tie knots.

What you'll need:

- any square piece of fabric (yes, it must be a square)

Mine is 1.25 yards

-Flower for embellishment

Here we go:

Step 1: Lay down your fabric with right side facing up.

Step 2: Fold it into a triangle, wrong side out.

Step 3: Take the right hand corner, and bring it up to meet the center of your triangle, bunch it together to make a roll.

Step 4: Tie a knot at the base.

Step 5: Do the same to the left side.

Step 6: Take the top of your triangle and open it up. You can now see the right side again.

Step 7: Flip the whole thing over, wrong side up.

Step 8: Tuck your knots and straps into the middle.

Step 9: Pick up both ends and put them together, your knots are inside now. You can push down on the inside of the bag to stretch out the fabric. The knots are now to the sides of your bag.

Step 10: Turn the bag over so the knots become front and back of your purse. Stretch and pull the fabric as you go to get the right look for you.

Step 11: Tie a knot at the very top of your bag to make a handle, left over right, then right over left. That's it!

You have finished your really cute purse, without having to sew a stitch. And the best part is, if you get sick of it, just untie it and find a new and fun way to fold and tie your fabric, and you have a brand new style.

I added a flower to mine, just for some fun. I just pinned it with safety pins. No need to stitch it on, I might take it apart anyway one of these days. :)

I hope you liked this as much as I did, and look on YouTube for some amazing videos on how to fold your own Furoshiki.

Thanks Nicholette and Vanessa! We feature reader submissions weekly. If you have a fun craft you think our other readers would enjoy, send a note to littlebirdiesecrets(at)gmail(dot)com!